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Added on the 27/09/2017 11:30:53 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Explosions at an arms depot spark the evacuation of some 12,000 people in northern Ukraine as a huge fire is set off, authorities said. IMAGES
A hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is evacuating its patients and staff over fears of Russian strikes following claims by Belarus's secret services that it, along with another medical facility, hosted military personnel. "The city is urgently beginning to evacuate two hospitals... because a video is widely circulated online, actually de facto announcing an enemy attack on these medical facilities," Kyiv's city administration said. IMAGES
Images from the village of Pokrovskoye in northern Kazakhstan show houses submerged in flood water after fast-melting snow caused the river Esil to reach unprecedented heights. Moscow and Astana have been battling rising rivers for more than five days, with both declaring a state of emergency and saying the floods have been the worst in decades. IMAGES
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says that alliance members must guarantee long-term weapon deliveries for Ukraine, as ministers prepared to discuss a proposal for a 100-billion-euro, five-year fund. Speaking in Brussels, where NATO foreign ministers are meeting to forge a support package by a July summit in Washington, Stoltenberg says "we must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul." "We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul so that we rely less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments, less on short-term offers and more on multi-year pledges," Stoltenberg says as NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels. SOUNDBITE
The United States announces a fresh tranche of arms to bolster Ukraine's mounting counteroffensive against Russian forces, including armored vehicles, precision munitions and mine-clearing equipment. "Today, the Biden-Harris administration is announcing a new security assistance package for Ukraine, as we continue to stand with the people of Ukraine," says White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton. The $500 million package comes just days after Russia's own warmaking capacity appeared to fray with a mutiny by its privately run Wagner force. SOUNDBITE